5:50am - Just about to the hospital.
6:30am - Playing while waiting for check-in.
8:30am - I took her back into the operating room - no trauma or crying while she was being put to sleep. We love versed!
8:45am - Took her back about 15 minutes ago. Will be several hours for surgery.
9:00am - Went down to the cafeteria to grab breakfast and pass the time.
10:00am - Thank you everyone so much for your prayers and well wishes. We have the best family and friends! No news yet but we are most definitely feeling covered by your prayers! The OR is booked for her until 10:30 ... hopefully we will know something soon, I will update when I can!
10:32am - She's out of surgery, everything went well! We go back to see her soon. Please pray for her comfort!
10:45am - Sleeping peacefully now.
Surprised at how little blood there is and NO tongue string! Woohoo!
11:15 am - Out of recovery and in our own room now. The nurse is super nice and absolutely amazed at how much Sunshine is drinking (I think she's secretly worried that she is going to drink too much and throw up ... but not our girl, I promise!).
11:30am - Shes doing much better than anticipated so far, praise God. In and out of sleep, not crying too much yet. That could change though, please keep praying.
12:30pm - Still calm! Answered prayers!!
2:00pm - She's a rockstar! She's already had about 12ozs of juice and is still going strong. She is so brave and graceful, I'm absolutely in awe!
4:30pm - The local anesthesia in her mouth has worn off and she's feeling pain. Didn't realize it at the time, but this was most likely the source of her discomfort and irritation.
5:20pm - Having a hard time now, she's crying and saying no to everything. Please pray for her comfort.
7:08pm - Last administration of the extra delaudid (there was a continuous dose still going, but we stopped pushing the button for extra).
7:40pm - Really struggling to control her pain and agitation now. She's on a pain pump that makes her terribly itchy and she even got valium. I feel so bad for her, she's in and out but is so angry most of the time. Please keep her in your prayers for comfort and peace.
(The pain pump is administering delaudid, a drug that has a terrible side effect of itchiness. Although another drug is administered to counteract the itchiness, it's not working for our Sunshine. She is extremely uncomfortable because of the itchiness, and red splotches are developing on her face because she's itching so much. Also, we think the overall feeling she is getting from so many drugs in her system is causing her agitation, so the decision to take her off so many meds is probably a good one. We're keeping her just on oxycodone and tylenol because we know she tolerates them well.)
8:50pm - And I just got peed all over. LOL. Pants, shirt, underwear ... oh fun times!! Good thing I brought an extra shirt but I am now wearing hospital pants that open in the front. Guess I'm staying in the room tonight!! LOL. At least I can laugh at something :-)
9:40 pm - She's been resting well for about the last hour on Zach's lap. Not sleeping but somewhat content. All of the drugs are slowly working their way out if her system, just keeping her on tylenol and oxycodone (which we know works well for her). No more valium or delaudid for this chicadee! DH leaves at 10pm to go home to the kids, I hope some of you will be awake to keep me company tonight!
10:20pm - Had to get a little mean and obnoxious to get pain meds delivered after being 20 minutes late. Sheesh. (PS - The meds were never late again after this!)
11:30pm - Playing by iLite.
1:30am - I. Am. So. Tired.
3:00am - She is sleeping comfortably, only waking up here and there. I, on the other hand, am awake. At least she is peaceful though, Praise God!
(So annoyed in general by everything, but mostly by the nurses that keep waking Sunshine up just to check on her. I know it's their job and I don't mean to criticize them, but an exhausted mama with a hurting child that is finally sleeping comfortably is fierce! Apparently they have never spent the night holding their hurting child in the hospital without sleeping at all. Otherwise they would know to check everything at the SAME time instead of coming in multiple times!)
5:30am - There is something unspeakably beautiful about the first signs of daylight after spending the night in the hospital with your hurting child. Thank you God, for helping us through this.
6:00am - Visited by the plastics doctors and asked them what I had to do to get my girl home that morning. After the good night we had, they agreed to discharge her today! PRAISE GOD! They put the order in to take her off the IV also, although the actual IV won't be removed until right before we leave.
6:45am - Now that she's unhooked, Sunshine is in the sling and I am boringly walking the halls. She insists the blanket be covering her whole body, including her head. She is drifting peacefully in and out of sleep.
7:00am - Discharge papers are being written! Hoping for 9am!
7:15am - The orders were actually written for 11am-12noon. When I asked WHY it was so late, the nurse explained that we all needed to be comfortable with her pain management and eating. I told her that I'd taken her home in MUCH worse shape with the other surgeries and that I was more than comfortable and ready to get out of the hospital. She wasn't as convinced as I was but I told her I was willing to do whatever was needed to GO HOME. Why do we need to convince them to leave?! LOL. Apparently leaving this early after such a major surgery is so rare that it pretty much doesn't happen. That's our Sunshine, always surprising everyone with her fierce strength and bravery!
7:30am - My guardian angel/friend from church, Anna, brought me breakfast. I was starving after being awake all night and not eating dinner. She chatted with me for about 30 minutes, thank God for a familiar face!
8:00am - Went over all the discharge papers with the nurse while I stroller-walked Sunshine through the halls.
8:30am - DH arrived with the other kids to take us home and without a change of clothes for me. Had to put my yucky peed-on clothes back on. LOL. Oh well, at least he was there to take us home!!
9:15am - Discharged, Praise the Lord! Picked up the oxycodone and extra tylenol from the hospital pharmacy and drove home!
10:15am - THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
What a day! (or 2 days). I am in awe at God's providence ... I don't know why I am surprised but this was such a great experience, considering what kind of surgery it was. And in many ways, it is much easier to care for Sunshine with this surgery than with the lip repairs. I will keep everyone updated but so far, aside from being mellow and a little moody, it's like nothing ever happened. She is one AMAZING GIRL! Thanking God for so many blessings!
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